Alhambra III

View from Alhambra back to Plaza San Nicolas, the

previous evening's view

The old fortress; the only reason to visit it, it is said, is for

the views, which were no doubt diminished on this rainy cloudy

foggy day

 

Side door entrance to Charles V Palace; the palace is a
humongous square edifice, Renaissance, plopped down in
the middle of the Alhambra complex (well, at least the
conquering Christians didn't destroy it entirely), with a
large round columned open area in the middle; Charles
didn't live long enough to see it roofed; his son, Philip II,
built El Escorial instead; anyhow, it was under Charles V
that the newly united Spain and the older, humongous
Hapsburg (Holy Roman) Empire were united, via marriage;
thus "Imperator Caesar Karlos V" on the door; biggest
empire since the Romans; it was also Chuck 5, as I recall,
who quipped that he spoke French to his courtiers, Spanish
to his priests, Italian to the ladies, and German to his horse

Inside the Charles V courtyard; the echo in this large space

is incredible

"Testing...uno...dos...tres..."

We walked over to see the Generalife, the

separate gardens, notable for being largely

unchanged over five centuries; this, I promise,
is the last water feature, in the summer palace